The last two NBA champions meet, the Nuggets host the Warriors
There are five teams that are at least four games over .500 entering this NBA season. Two of them meet on Wednesday evening in Denver.
The Denver Nuggets 7-1 face the Golden State Warriors 6-2. These two teams are responsible for the last two NBA championships, and it is possible that the championship will go to one of these teams this season as well.
The Nuggets are 3.5-point favorites at BetMGM, although they will be without a key player. Star guard Jamal Murray has a hamstring injury that could keep him out for an extended period of time. The fact that the Nuggets are still favorites despite Murray’s loss shows how well they played earlier this season.
Denver suffered a loss at the Minnesota Timberwolves and that was it. They are 5-0 at home. They have an impressive net rating of 11.8 Third in the NBA. Nikola Jokic started the season the same way he did last season when he was NBA Finals MVP. They are title contenders again.
The Warriors were pretty good too. A strange scheduling quirk is that they have played six of their first eight games on the road and are 5-1 in those games. Steph Curry is off to a fantastic start this season, averaging 30.9 points per game. If the Warriors can reach 6-1 in road games this season by beating the Nuggets, that will be impressive.
Last season there was no duel between the Warriors and the Nuggets in the playoffs. The Warriors beat the Nuggets in their championship run two seasons ago, but last season’s Denver team was much better. Maybe there will be a playoff showdown this season. The big showdown on Wednesday evening will have to suffice for now.
Here’s the first look at Wednesday’s sports betting list:
Rest of the NBA
The NBA had Tuesday off and returns with 14 games on Wednesday night.
Warriors-Nuggets might not even be the best match of the night. The Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers, also both over .500 in the four-game bracket, meet in Philly. The Celtics, who suffered their first loss this season against the Timberwolves, are 1.5 points away favorites. It wouldn’t be a big surprise if we also face the Warriors-Nuggets and Celtics-76ers in the conference finals.
The game between the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks isn’t quite as good, but Victor Wembanyama’s professional debut at Madison Square Garden will be noteworthy. The Knicks are the favorites with 9.5 points.
Florida Atlantic starts its season
This is probably the first time Florida Atlantic’s college basketball season opener has been newsworthy. After a Final Four appearance, FAU is ranked 10th to start the season. They start the season against an old Final Four Cinderella story, Loyola-Chicago. FAU is the favorite with 4.5 points. The Owls are the only top-25 college basketball team in action on Wednesday.
The best of the rest
Of course there is some MACtion in college football. Bowling Green is the 9.5-point favorite over Kent State, Miami (Ohio) is the 17.5-point home favorite against Akron and Toledo is the 18.5-point home favorite against Eastern Michigan.
There are also three games in the NHL, including a very good Western Conference matchup. The 7-2-2 Los Angeles Kings face the 11-1-1 Vegas Golden Knights. Vegas is a -135 favorite.
What is the best choice?
There is a lot to choose from, but the Celtics are the small away favorite for me. The Celtics were the most impressive team in the NBA this season, and while the 76ers were also very good, I don’t think Boston is losing two in a row.